Of Halloweens Past

Halloween is here! Being a lover of all things themed, this is a favorite holiday of mine. I am a major believer in homemade costumes and I take it very seriously. Hunting down all the right pieces to bring an outfit together is such a thrill! And the less money I spend, the more successful I feel. Of course, the first task is the challenge of actually coming up with something creative and unique. From group costumes to going solo, here are a few of my favorite costumes from years past.

First is Rosie the Riveter, a super easy costume that just requires some curls in your hair, a bandanna, and a blue button down. And a pair of fake eyelashes...they seriously made such a difference! 

The next picture shows some friends and I as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. For these costumes, we bought over-sized plain green t-shirts at our local craft store, cut the collars to make them a little more flirty, and added yellow felt for the underside of the shell hot glued to the shirt. We made belts with brown ribbon and then used gold cardstock cut into a circle with the first letter for each turtle tied around our waist. Lastly, we used colored ribbons for headbands based on the color of the turtle we were imitating. Add a few toy weapons and look out!

The next group shot is of Snap, Crackle and Pop, the beloved characters from Rice Krispies. I was Snap and all I had to make was the chef hat. I used regular white printer paper and used two pieces to fit around my head, the 11 inch side horizontal, and taped them together at the right size. A tip: I measured with my ears inside the hat so that they were not poking out through my hair after I put the hat on. I used 3 or 4 more sheets of paper crinkled up and shaped to imitate the top of a chef hat. I used regular scotch tape to attach the base of the hat and the puffy top. The yellow button down top and red scarf I found at a thrift store paired with a pair of bright blue leggings we found at Target. 

Last but not least, I was Velma from Scooby-Doo. This happened to work out great because it was during one of my bang phases so my hair was fairly similar to her bob look. I sprang for the fake big rim glasses at Forever 21 and then picked up the turtle neck and red skirt at the thrift store. I had the knee socks in my dresser and wa-la! I transported into the 70's cartoon. 

The best part of these particular ideas are that they can easily be re-created in a day's time which is great if you are looking for a last minute idea for a costume party this weekend. Hopefully these have sparked an idea or two for your Halloween 2012! 

I feel like I am always thinking of potential Halloween ideas throughout the year and love hearing fun ideas from others so I'm dying to know: What is your favorite costume from years past?